Sandesh Bhandari

navigation
archive

Education

University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Science

HBSc. in Geography, Earth and Data Sciences

2026 · with High Distinctions
  • GPA: 3.92/4.0 · Dean's List Scholar
  • Nicholas Wemyss Undergraduate Explorers Fund Award
  • John Horner Undergraduate Scholarship in Geography
  • University of Toronto Research Excellence Award (UTEA)
  • Undergraduate Computer Applications Award

Experience

City of Toronto, Planning Research and Analytics

Research Assistant

May 2026 - Present
  • Conducting field data collection and verifing the accuracy of site records.
  • Structuring and presenting collected data to support project reporting.
  • Maintaining statistical databases to ensure data integrity.
  • Gathering employment and land-use data from Toronto businesses to inform municipal planning and future city services.

University of Toronto, Department of Geography & Planning

Research Assistant

January 2026 – Present
  • Supporting the primary research mandate through exploratory spatial analysis and rapid data visualization to iteratively test hypotheses and validate assumptions.
  • Conducting spatial analysis of residential zoning typologies (R, RD, RS, RT, RM) along major arterial corridors to evaluate densification potential under updated Toronto zoning policies.
  • Developing GIS workflows to classify parcel frontage (Front, Flank, Reverse) and model transit catchment zones relative to Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs).

Web Developer

Independent Contractor

2019 – Present
  • Architected and deployed 15+ full-stack web applications using MERN/MEAN stacks (MongoDB, Express, React/Angular, Node.js) for small-to-medium enterprises.
  • Optimized front-end performance by migrating legacy CSS to Tailwind and implementing Alpine.js for lightweight state management, reducing bundle sizes significantly and improving Lighthouse scores.
  • Integrated secure payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal) and third-party REST APIs.
  • Managed end-to-end project lifecycles, negotiating contract scopes, setting technical roadmaps, and delivering 100% of client projects on or ahead of schedule.

Skills

GIS & Spatial Analysis

ArcGIS, GeoPandas, OSMnx, Qgis, Shapely, GDAL, EE, Shapely

Programming & Data

JavaScript, Python, C, Rust, SQL, Pandas, Polars, Tauri

AI & Machine Learning

TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, Hugging Face, Transformers

Design & Visualization

D3.js, THREE.js, Matplotlib, Figma, Adobe

Sandesh Bhandari

I map cities, analyze earth systems, and write code to automate spatial workflows. My focus is translating raw geographic data into practical policy for climate resilience and infrastructure development. I like figuring out how physical spaces connect, and I read a lot.

© 2026 Sandesh Bhandari